Oakland Raiders vs Pittsburgh Steelers: Rebuilt rivalry

Nov 8, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; General view of the line of scrimmage as Oakland Raiders long snapper Jon Condo prepares to snap the ball in a NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The line of scrimmage

Most of the physical battle is fought, won or lost at the line of scrimmage, where all the big men are. The Raiders won that battle easily against the Jets, shutting their running game down, getting theirs going and not allowing a sack. But against the Steelers, both teams’ offensive lines dominated their sides of the line of scrimmage Sunday.

Roethlisberger was sacked once, Carr wasn’t sacked and both teams got their running games going. And that was usually the case back in the day with Hall of Fame offensive lineman in those games. Gene Upshaw and Art Shell were a Hall of Fame guard and tackle combo for the Raiders and Mike Webster was a Hall of Fame center for the Steelers.

And those were some big-time defensive front-7s that both teams had to play against in the good ole days. The Raiders had Hall of Fame players like DL Howie Long and OLB Ted Hendricks and the Steelers had DL Joe Greene MLB Jack Lambert and OLB Jack Ham.

Next: Close games